FOOD: PONYCAT

Okay, I’ll be completely honest with you, the reason why we considered eating at Ponycat was because Au Cirque was ridiculously packed to the gills with a wait-line trailing back onto the side street – there are some things a ravenous Jayne should not have to endure – and one of those is waiting an hour to be given a seat for breakfast – and so, with that in mind, along comes a visit to Ponycat.

Firstly, I would like to note, that Ponycat is one of the only places (thus far) that I have been that has their entire menu solely chalked onto their walls. This can be a good thing and a bad thing – a good thing in that it’s great to know that one’s menu is so rotational that it must reside on a chalkboard (also, the artistic way in which it is presented, over and around the alcove of a bench-kitchen, is in no way unappealing), a bad thing in that, if one is unlucky enough to be seated facing away or, well, on the sidewalk, one hasn’t got the soggiest idea as to what to order.

Despite this eco-friendly mini-flaw, once food is acquired, it is almost divinely delicious – and, for a place that does have a sizable number of items on the menu that are fried, are not excessively oily. Our meals were just the right size for my boyfriend’s appetite – the portions of egg we received governed the plate. Also good news, for those who are curious and are tired of me only eating things with murder-meat in them, Ponycat does have vegetarian and gluten free items available for munching.

The boyfriend went for the Eggs On Toast (PLUS BACON, PLUS CHORIZO) while I decided to try out the mushrooms with scrambled eggs. Let me just expound on this: THE SERVINGS ARE LARGER THAN YOU THINK. Yes, the servings are indeed quite large, despite appearing small. Much like an iceberg. Or China. The only danger in this (apart from a heart attack) stems from the sheer size of the meal lending to monotony. I found myself digging into the boyfriend’s chorizo-laden meal to break it up slightly.

Meals are reasonably priced and qualify as being priced in the mid-range – with the simpler meals priced at $8 and the larger, more complex meals being priced up to $15, depending on your taste in add-ons. Also, they have a variety of cakes to try out and I’m going to say that their carrot cake LOOKS LIKE it is the best in the world. I say “looks like” because I haven’t actually tried it myself, but even looking at it makes me feel like I should somehow find a way to make it have my babies. I hope that didn’t sound weird.

From the exterior, Ponycat does not sing of its interior hipster feel. The street view is dominated by massive awnings emblazoned with Giancarlo Coffee – it’s bean supplier. But once under the awnings, you get the feeling that the owners have really put in the hard yards. A large mural of its name sake: a cat riding a pony, takes up the entire ride-side corner, while natural light streams through the large windows that take up the left aspect of the venue. Hardwood floors and café chairs take up residence around a collection of wooden benches and painstakingly collage-decked tables. A set of squishy sofas take up the corner under the pony-cati-fied wall – and the alcove kitchen and front bench face the entire space.

Service, of course, is well-mannered and we had no issues with ordering – the only confusion arose when we entered – due to the small space, as to where to actually plonk ourselves down to eat. We were eventually herded to a window-seat after looking a little bewildered at the seating arrangements – with half of the clientele standing around staring at the wall-menu and the other half looking about lazily, we weren’t sure if we were to wait to be seated or just claim a sport in the name of our hungry bodies.

All in all, the experience was fantastic – the small space is filled to brimming with great personality, food and service. It also gleams with the quintessentially New Farm Vibe: just ask the man clad in pink spangly spandex that wandered in, clearly bid everyone a “GLOOOORIOUS MORNING, DARRRRLINGS” and then promptly left the vicinity. LOVE IT!

I tried this place last week when i had a 1 hr wait for a meeting.Anyway not knowing where to go for a coffee and brekky i found ponycat.I ordered a long black and scrambled eggssmoked salmon ,mushrooms sausages and some fancy toast.The coffee come out promptly and i might add this has been one of the best coffees i have had in australia,About 15 minutes later my brekky arrived and i was quite surprised at the size of it.The eggs were soft and velvety and the salmon was very nice as was the mushrooms which were hot but not over cooked.
This was such a great find for coffee and brekky and the young lad serviing was well mannered and my expectations were definatley met.
Will comming back here again for sure.